Right to Own Stuff

Your Right to Resell Your Own Stuff is in Peril por Michael Suede:

A pending Supreme Court case could have a major impact on your ability to sell the things you own.

This rather insane ruling by the appellate court provides me an opportunity to explain a few more rather dubious things that originate out of intellectual property law. Most people are unaware that free market economists unilaterally denounce copyright and patent protections as being destructive to the health of an economy.

Copyrights and patents amount to a grant of monopoly privilege by the state to specific producers, which undermines competitive forces in the economy. IP laws artificially raise prices by limiting production to those specific producers who hold the IP rights.

.. IP laws are not fundamental to a functioning market, unlike physical property ownership. The removal of IP laws would create far more efficient and competitive markets, with far few resources being wasted on individuals preventing each other from engaging in the production of various goods and services.